Applications open for 2023 Formnext Start-up Challenge
May 30, 2023
Formnext organiser Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH has opened applications for the Formnext Start-Up Challenge 2023. The competition works to recognise young and innovative companies within the world of Additive Manufacturing and provide them with the opportunity to showcase their work and network with potential customers, partners and investors.
“The Formnext Start-up Challenge aims to support young companies in the long term. We offer the winners a highly attractive package enabling them to showcase what they do alongside the elite of the global AM world and inject fresh impetus into the international manufacturing industry,” explained Sascha F Wenzler, Vice President Formnext at Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH.
Previous winners of the Start-up Challenge include 3Yourmind, Dyemansion, Kumovis, Sinterit, Trinckle 3D, and Xioneer. Dr Alexander Kostenko, CEO of Photosynthetic B.v., winner of the Start-up Challenge in 2022, stated, “We made more useful contacts in the four at Formnext than we had in the previous eighteen months. This once again accelerated our business in the right direction.”
From November 7-10, 2023, start-ups at Formnext will experience a trade fair experience within an industry of technological innovators, where other developers, designers, and experts aim to inspire each other. Formnext 2023 is reportedly heading for new record figures, with over 600 exhibitors already registered.
Jury member Professor Peter Mayr, Head of the Chair of Materials Engineering of Additive Manufacturing at the Technical University of Munich, commented, “The Formnext Start-up Challenge is a unique opportunity for AM start-ups to expand their network, receive feedback from potential customers and industry experts, and evaluate their business models. Only through this collaboration between start-ups, science, and industry can we develop the AM applications of tomorrow and increase the maturity level of AM across domain boundaries.”
In addition to the additively manufactured award, sponsored by Voxeljet, the five winners will each receive a Formnext exhibition and marketing package, which includes, among other things, a fully equipped exhibition booth in the Formnext 2023 Start-up Area and inclusion in all Formnext PR activities. In addition, as part of Formnext, the winners can participate in a pitch event on the Industry Stage to be broadcast live on Formnext.TV, giving them the opportunity to present their products or services to investors, companies, and customers.
The Formnext Start-up Challenge will also focus on the increasingly important issue of sustainability. The AM Ventures Impact Award worth €5,000 recognises start-ups who are leading the way in this field. “Additive Manufacturing has become an important technology with huge potential to resolve global sustainability challenges,” explained Arno Held, Managing Partner at AM Ventures. “We are on the way to a sustainable and resource-efficient society, and start-ups are particularly well placed to drive this transformation in traditional manufacturing.”
Applications are now open for companies that are no more than five years old, have a marketable product, and generate annual sales of less than €10 million. Applications must be submitted before the deadline on July 14, 2023.
To apply, fill out the application form here.
The winners will be announced in September 2023.
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